Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to a hearing device, particularly to a hearing aid.
Hearing devices are usually used for outputting (acoustic) sound signals to an ear or a hearing center of a respective hearing device user. In most cases, to that end, hearing devices include a loudspeaker, frequently referred to as an “earpiece,” that is worn directly in the auditory canal of the respective ear of the hearing device user or is acoustically connected to the auditory canal, for example by using an acoustic tube. Alternatively, a hearing device may also have, for the purpose of transmitting the sound signal, an associated bone conduction implant, a cochlear implant or the like. In that case, hearing devices are particularly in the form of hearing aids for compensating for a reduction in the hearing of the hearing device user and in most cases additionally include at least one microphone for capturing (ambient) sounds and also a signal processing unit through the use of which the captured sounds are filtered if need be and then output to the loudspeaker in amplified form. Alternatively, however, a hearing device may also be a so-called tinnitus masker, through the use of which a background or noise signal specific to the hearing device user is generated and output.
Some modern hearing devices have a device for (wireless) communication with a separate device. In most cases, a separate device of that kind is a control unit through the use of which processing settings can be (wirelessly) transmitted to the respective hearing device, or—in the case of a binaural hearing device system for aiding both ears of the hearing device user—it is a second hearing device. By way of example, the control unit may in turn be a smart phone on which a software application for controlling the hearing device is installed. Furthermore, the separate device may also be an audio signal source that transmits audio signals for playback to the hearing device, such as a TV set, a smart phone or the like, for example. By way of example, such audio signals are pieces of music, the sound signals otherwise output through the loudspeakers of the TV set or—if the hearing device is a head set—voice signals from a telephone as well.
It has been recognized that wireless communication (signal transmission) requires electrically conductive components in the hearing device that are used as an antenna. They are usually formed by metal structures, particularly by conductor tracks disposed on a printed circuit board. In that case, those structures may be integrated in a circuit carrier carrying the signal processing unit or may have a DC connection to the circuit carrier. Against the background of progressive miniaturization of hearing devices, however, the installation space requirement and also the assembly of a separate antenna are often problematic.